Insight is a Profound Thing
by lizpageyou
Summary: "Everything went slow for Rose as she watched the man's body slowly drop off the roof. She ran for the edge and could have swore she heard the dull thud as he hit the ground." Missing scene-ish in season 7 in TPOT. 11xRose and major Doctor whump! The TARDIS takes the Doctor the one place he wants to go, but is everything a little too good to be true?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 Going for a trip?

Rose.

The most perfect thing.

He misses her so very much.

She was the one who dragged him from the depths of his despair when the time war had crushed him.

The things they've seen, the places their travels took them.

The beginning of her planet, and the end of it.

She knows him better than anyone in all of his 1264 years has ever known him.

He was so hard and cold after all that he had lost and all the pain he caused.

He didn't know why today was any more important than any other day. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about her all day. He hung around the TARDIS for a while, but the thought of her was beginning to drive him mad already.

Amy and Rory had been busy with these smallish black cubes and he got bored watching them and waiting for something to happen. It had been almost a year, and after traveling for a while and not, for once in his life, coming across any problems along the way, he was BORED.

He wandered down long passage ways that are a beautiful deep coral color. There were many rooms lining these hallways, and all of which were splendid in their own . But he especially loved the star room. It's a giant room, at least thousands of feet in length. You could walk around in there forever. Covered in grids and star systems and maps. Like a giant 3D projection. You could walk around and touch planets and galaxies. Make them spin and shimmer under your fingers. Explore the universe without ever leaving the room. He never created this room. It didn't come with the original designs of the TARDIS, but was created sometime during his stay on the ship. It was absolutely beautiful. One of his favorite rooms. He only ever shared this room with Rose. Nobody else knew about it.

Why is he still thinking about her? Why can't this just stop? He knows what he did. The mistake of leaving her forever with the meta-crisis. It wasn't that bad though, right? She still had a small part of him with her, and the other him had a way to keep sane. That all works out, right? Everybody's happy. But...he's not. He was the traitor. He was the deserter. He was so used to running, that he made the mistake of running away from the one thing that he had truely loved.

"Get out of my head!"

He didn't need this right now, he had other things to do, other planets to save, more people to meet. He didn't have the time to mope around about something that could never come back to him. Never.

"So stop thinking about it. It's not that hard. Is it? Why is it hard? Stop it."

He muttered to himself as he backed out the room and slowly shut the door. He took his time to walk back to the console room. Then started up the engines and set the TARDIS on a random coordinate to explore. He wasn't going to leave this timeline because Amy and Rory still needed him there.

They did love doing normal people stuff and being boring. He couldn't sit still for longer than a few seconds before going nuts. He didn't know they could possibly handle doing it for hours in front of the telly.

The TARDIS made its familiar creeks and groans before landing. The doctor stepped out of the doors and looked around in surprise. He rushed back into the TARDIS and checked the coordinates and time again. Something bad had happened. He was back in 2004, in England, before he had met Rose. He thought he told the TARDIS not to leave the timeline, but why did she bring him here?

"It doesn't make sense!" He muttered before slowly opening the doors to look around again.

It looked to be about November or December-ish outside as he peeked out of the interior. It was fairly dark outside and he checked his watch to find that it was almost eleven. 10:57, November the 25, 2004. All of this is a very fixed timeline, and he had no clue as to how it was possible to be here.

All of a sudden, the TARDIS started to jerk about so wildly that the doctor was forced to shut the doors and hold on for dear life. It hit the ground over and over again and sputtered about.

"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", He yelled as the TARDIS crashed into various objects and finally went under a bridge and skidded to a stop on its side. The doctor was hanging onto the edge of the door frame for dear life while little scraps and trinkets feel out of their boxes and fell into the various hallways. He struggled and pulled himself up and out of the box and plopped on the ground with an exasperated sigh.

"And what was that?!" He kicked the box angrily.

"Ow ow ow shouldn't do that, remind me not to do that again."

He was still a bit fuzzy and uneasy on his feet from all that jolting around, and didn't quite notice when he had wondered by a giant highway intersection. He stumbled round shaking his head for a while and paused in the middle of the street; right when a small light blue mini-van desperately tried to skid to a stop and plowed right into the Doctor.

**Alrighty then! Hope you guys enjoyed that first chapter! Please please PLEASE review, comment, do whatever you lovely people do best! Also, this is the very first fic I've ever written, so any type of feedback would be extremely helpful, and if you're reading, thank you bunches! I will post the next chapter really really soon, and I'm so sorry about how short it is :( the next few will be longer, promise! I love you all! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**(okay guys, so a little bit of revision on this chapter, and again, so sorry about how short these are :( just bear with me. Anyway, here's chapter two!)**

CHAPTER 2 And suddenly... a van.

The force of the impact sent him a good ten feet in front of the now stopped van. The driver rushed around the side of the car with phone in hand desperately mashing buttons on the cell to call for help. Meanwhile, the Doctor lay on the ground daring not to move for the amount of pain he was in. He didn't know exactly how many bones were broken or so shattered that they just weren't there. His breathing came in short gasps and his vision was going blurry. The woman that had run him over was tapping his shoulder, which burned badly when she did, asking if he could hear her.

"I'm all right. Just...ah...give me a few...minutes...", He gasped still trying to stand up bit only managing to fall on his back in pain.

"Listen to me, you have to drive away now, you have to...", he struggled to warn her about his regeneration cycle.

"No, no the paramedics are on their way, don't you worry, you're going to be fine now", she said soothingly trying to get him to calm down and stop injuring himself more.

"I did this and I have to help. Oh God... oh God...", she said trying to keep her panicking down. "Hello? Hello?" She said into her phone, "there's a man, and, and , I think I've just ran him over, oh God...," The woman almost screamed into her phone.

She had run a man over, and he was probably dying now. She wished the paramedics could get here sooner. The man moaned slightly as she tilted his head to keep it above the ground.

"I...need...go please... get me...go get help, across the street..." He said breathlessly while pointing to a nearby culdesac.

He felt his regeneration cycle starting, he wanted to get her out of here so he could make his way back to the TARDIS to be by himself for the last few minutes.

"Alright...alright, but here," she said as she slipped off her blue jacket and put it under his head.

"I'll be right back, don't try anything funny now." She said as she got up and jogged to the nearest houses.

While she was gone, the Doctor slowly got to his knees and started making his way towards the TARDIS, which was still crashed about twenty feet away off the side of the highway, under the bridge, and thankfully, in the shadows. He could feel the ligaments in his now broken body continuously radiating heat and pain and he slowly crawled his way back to his ship. He was almost halfway there when a siren started to rise in the distance to signal the truck that would eventually take him to the hospital. He could feel his skin start to heat up and glow.

"I'm too late. How could this happen?"

The medical team rushed around him with human gadgets and masks and things.

"No, stay back, this might hurt you, I can't...I can't stop it for much longer..."

He scooted away from the EMT as she rushed to his side while her partner assessed for injuries.

"It's all right. We're here to help. Sir what is your name? Can you tell me what happened? Is there anyone else with you?" she asked.

"You can't be here, my... my regeneration...you have to leave now... She's gone, made her go away, have to...get to TARDIS." said the Doctor as he tried to inch his way back further.

Looking at her partner, "Alright, he's going into shock now, let's get him on board." said the head paramedic as they finished putting a collar on him. "Spine is stabilized, let's get him onto the stretcher."

They lifted him up onto the back of the truck and closed the doors just as the lady from the car rounded the corner with another man and woman. She looked so scared and frantic, and also slightly familiar...but he couldn't quite put his finger on who she looked like before his eyesight dimmed again.

"Wha? Why am I not regenerating?" the Doctor said as he held up his arms to look at. The medical team exchanged a baffled glance. He slowly lost consciousness as he clutched the blue jacket that had been under his head from the nice lady that had helped him. The engine started and they took off through the night.

**Cliffhangers! I absolutely love them! (If you couldn't already tell...) next chapter should be up very very soon, promise :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, a teeny bit of revision on this chapter, and I must say, it's gotten a lot better. I have a new medical advisor now, and that basically means I know a lot more big words, and I know how stuff works at an actual hospital :p oh, look! There's a plot coming together! :D have fun now!**

* * *

CHAPTER 3 _Quite a shock..._

The Doctor startled awake and found himself in a hospital bed. He panicked as he struggled to remember what happened the previous night. As the information slowly came back to him, he stared at the ceiling dumb struck.

_How_ _Did this_ happen?

A flood of questions came to him all at once. Everything about his predicament was unsettling and quite confusing to think about. Not to mention his head hurt in a horrible way.

He sat up suddenly and immediately plopped back down.

"Aaoooooooowwwww," he moaned as he felt the bruises and internal damage flare with heat. He silently screamed with his mouth open for a moment until the pain subsided.

If he was in a hospital, why didn't they have him pumped full of painkillers already?

_Well that __**really**__ hurt._

He looked up at an IV hanging above his head, with the tubing trailing down through a pump and into his left arm.

_Wait. There is something. What have they got in me?_

He craned his neck to look at the drip again.

_Morphine. That was close. Would have turned out quite differently if it wasn't morphine._

He slowly turned his neck to the left to see shadows standing outside of a window with the blinds drawn. They moved in an aggravated fashion and spoke in harsh whispers.

Concentrating on the voices, he picked up on the conversation. Apparently, they had tried to resuscitate him, and failed, only to find him a few minutes later with perfectly stable condition.

_Stable. That's worrying... right? Why? Stable...stable..come on think!... Oh! Of course! How stupid of me. They only check for one heart. That's not good._

He slapped himself on the forehead. Using his good hand, his other arms hurt something terrible, he placed it over his left chest and then his right. He found only one steady beat. He was having a little difficulty breathing, and his chest felt a little pressured; he had been there for quite a few hours. The light pouring in from the window to his right told him it was already about nine. He had laid in a hospital with only one heart working for over _ten hours_. Frankly, it was a miracle he wasn't dead already.

He figured it was best to lay low for a while until he knew what was going on. That was a first. He ran over the facts in his head.

_Okay... okay. So I'm hurt. Quite badly, in fact. My right heart isn't beating. For now. I'm still healing, if not slower than usual, and that may be what's keeping my other heart alive. No regeneration. The TARDIS brought me here for some reason... but... why? I need to get to her. Soon._

He looked at a small lamp table sitting by the bed. It had a small electric candle, that blue jacket the lady from the van had given him, and flowers? They were in a small round glass vase, and there was a white envelope propped up next to them. He reached over to the card and held above his face, eying the name scrawled on the front.

_**To Mister**_

_** Please**__**Read**_

_I'm going to assume this is from the lady, obviously a woman's handwriting. Why wouldn't I read it?_

He carefully folded the letter, and put it right next to him on the bed. He happened a glance at the blue jacket. Then really looked at it like seeing it for the first time. His eyes widened at the first thought that came to him.

"No. No. It can't be," he said, speaking aloud for the first time since he had woken up. "I couldn't have possibly gotten that lucky, could I?"

Never, not in a million years, forbid he live that long, would he think to get anywhere close to Rose again. The damage he did going back to see Rose again before he regenerated had most likely caused yet another crack in the universe. But he had fixed that. With the Pandorica and rewriting the universe and all. If he ever tried going back to see her again... well he just wasn't going to risk it. Paradoxes and... things. So how was he here? And how on Gallifrey did he get Rose's jacket? It was hers, wasn't it?

"She ran me over!"

He reached over and gingerly picked up the small jacket and looked at it decidedly before putting his face in the fabric. He inhaled deeply and pulled his face back in surprise.

_Sweet smelling. Like lavender. And honey. Rose. It has to be. I'd know it anywhere._

He brought the jacket to his nose again and reveled in the smell of her. Then he carefully placed the jacket on the table. Slowly, he brought his head around to the shaded window to listen to the hurried conversation again, but was interrupted by a young girl walking in wearing scrubs. She had probably heard his heart rate monitor going off; he'd gotten himself quite worked up the past few minutes. He quickly shut his eyes and slowed his breathing to a resting rate, as though he was still sleeping.

The nurse scanned over the finger monitor and looked at the Doctor with a raised eyebrow, as though she wasn't entirely convinced.

The Doctor cracked an eye open to watch the nurse exit the room when a sudden deep pain started to radiate throughout his chest cavity. His eyes flew open as he gasped and began yelling. The pain was immense, as though someone had stuck a red hot iron into his other damaged heart, and was twisting it about.

Not long after hearing him, a montage of doctors and nurses came pouring into the small hospital room with the head doctor ordering others around.

"Get his vitals again, I need to know what's causing the tachycardia. Kristen, we can't wait any longer on that MRI, call the radiology department now," he motioned to a nurse. "Lets get some leads on him."

He felt the cold as patches were stuck to his skin. His body struggled against the pain in convulsions. The heart rate monitor was beeping erratically by the time the leads were attached.

"He's struggling too much, and he doesn't take the painkillers to well, we need to get him restrained," Kristen yelled back to him.

He soon felt the rough fabric going over his wrists, then over his torso. They pulled tighter until he couldn't move his arms off the bed, so he was reduced to shaking his head back and forth, praying that the pain would go away.

They wheeled him out into the MRI room and put him onto the table, ready to be slid under the scanner of the giant machine.

His struggles continued until a cold sharp prick to the inside of his elbow pulled him ever deeper into a sedated sleep. He fought against the sedative knowing it would not do the same to him as it would a human. He managed to keep just barely awake while the bright white light of the scanner engulfed him.

It clicked for a minute, while a line of light slid above his head.

"Hold on, this isn't right," someone said as the scanner finished. "There is a mass superior to his liver above the diaphragm," stated the radiologist. A few of them gathered around the computer screen, talking among themselves. "I can't be sure, but I see cavities that look like ventricles and atria," one of the doctors said incredulously.

"This chart appears inaccurate also. The police report stated the driver hit him at 57 miles an hour, and he had signs of internal bleeding when he arrived. I don't see any signs of tissue damage. It's like he was never in an accident!" the internist said with disbelief.

He began to get feeling back in his limbs as the fog lifted from his thoughts. He knew he couldn't be awake long before his other heart gave out. He had subconsciously put himself into a sort of sleeping coma to preserve his energy, and his life. It was now slowly draining away, and these people wouldn't know what to do anyway.

_Great. Strapped to a bed and dying._

"Doctor...!" The nurse called out. "Blood pressure is dropping, pulse rate is rapid, breathing shallow.."

The internist ran into the scan room and grabbed the EKG screen to look at it. "We have V-tac! Call a code and get respiratory on the phone, now!"

His left heart stuttered and slowed to a stop as he gasped for air that wouldn't come. Black clouded his vision as he slipped.

He felt his gown ripped open as staff began pooling around him. Hands centered on his chest and began pumping furiously.

"Crash cart coming through! Get the defibrillator charged!" Someone yelled out.

Something cold and hard was placed on his chest.

"Clear!"

"Oh no no no no! Don't do that, it won't work!" he said, quickly regaining consciousness for a moment.

The electrical charge built up, then everything went black.

* * *

_He was standing on a grassy hill, a thunderstorm rolling in the distance. The dark red grass bent slightly in the wind, and the dark purple storm rolled lazily towards him. If he looked behind him, he could see the bright orange of the sky, and its two suns casting their blindingly brilliant light about the clouds, creating shapes that danced on the ground. He bent down and ran his hands over the soft stalks while inhaling the fresh air. It smelled heavy with rain._

_It had been awhile since he had experienced this dream, but he welcomed it. The wind was especially colder than he remembered, and he shivered. The lightning flashed nearby in a spectacular show of light. _

_His old yet youthful green eyes reflected the scenery around him as it lit up the sky. He could see for miles, even more than he could see on any other planet._

_Everything was Crystal and green._

_Everything was touch and smell on the edge of your senses._

_Everything was old and new; ancient yet young._

_You could feel the slow turning of the giant planet, and every particle of anything that danced about your touch._

_This is when you can feel the universe around you; feel life in its very essence._

_Feel the stars, being born and dying._

_Feel life starting, feel life ending, all at once._

_A feeling that, should it ever be experienced by other creatures, their eyes would see as if for the first time._

_To feel the universe in all of its glory turning, changing, and existing; a gift and a curse._

_This was not a dream, but a memory made into a dream._

_There weren't many things more beautiful, nor more dangerous than a storm_ _on Gallifrey._

_Something was different though._

_Off._

_Not quite the way it should be._

_My chest feels heavy. Why can't I breathe?_

_He put his hands up to where his hearts were, and listened to nothing. Silence. It scared him. Is this only a dream? The static in the air built up rapidly till he could feel it all around him._

_A giant explosion boomed above him and the air crackles with electricity, splitting into millions of glassy pieces. A white light split around him as another blast reported into his chest, pain tearing through him like a train. His hearts were being electrified. Then came light._

* * *

The Doctor's eyes flew open and the ceiling lights glared into his eyes.

He could breathe.

"Heeeeeeeellooooooo! Blimey! That was a close one!" he exclaimed shooting into a sitting position, then immediately fell back with a long sigh and closed his eyes. They had apparently taken off the restraints.

The rest of the medical staff had jumped back a few inches we he had popped up all of a sudden, but now a tentative hand reached out with a stethoscope and placed the head on his chest. He popped his eyes back open and the nurse checking him jumped again.

"I seem to be in partial working order, I don't think that'll be necessary anymore." the Doctor said with sarcasm finding its way back into his voice.

"Normal sinus rhythm," said the nurse with a slightly shaky voice, "good work people. Lets get him to medical for monitoring."

His eyes drifted across the room to see the lead doctor watching him. "How are you feeling?"

He didn't reply right away, and saw deep suspicion in the other man's eyes. They probably had enough information to determine his anatomy was far from ordinary. He wondered what they would do with him now that they knew.

"I would like to discuss some things about your medical history when you are feeling up to it," the doctor continued, "and the nurse has some questions for you." he said with a sting in his voice as he turned and walked out of the room. The nurse walked in as he left, and greeted him with a warm smile and a little, "Hello! What's your name then?"

"Hello to you too! I'm the Doctor, and I would very much like my clothes back, it gives me the oddest tingle to not wear my bow tie! But then again, the only time I don't is when I'm in my nighties..." He flashed a wide smile.

* * *

**So what did you think? Tell me maybe? :) I really appreciate reviews and just comments in general, so anything you want to say, or if you want to give advice, just go on and say it, I don't get offended easily, and I take criticism any and all, just as long as it's helpful :) I just wanted to thank you guys for discovering and reading, because that's exactly what keeps me going, so keep doing that, and I'll get chapters up sooner! And more of them too :) I'm trying to get a new chapter up every other day, but don't quote me on that, I did say ****_try. I'll be posting chapter 4 tomorrow, hopefully, so hang on right! Ta ta for now..._**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: hello again all! So SO sorry it took me such a long time to update, but the chapters will definitely be coming a little more frequently now, so no more month-to-month updates! Also! New rule! I have to get at least 2 reviews before I post another chapter! I need to know what you guys think, and its really important that you tell me! Here's 4, enjoy! :)**

**(Also, huge shout out to Sase-chan and MishaRoseTennant for reviewing for me, gives me happy feels +D, thank you so much guys)**

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CHAPTER 4 _A small red flower_

While the nice nurse poured over questions with him, his eyes wandered around the room, already eager to find an escape route. A few others wandered around the MRI checking buttons and flipping switches this way and that. They were soon enough huddled around the computer monitor pointing out different things in his anatomy and arguing over what this shape was, or what this blob here looked like. They began pulling out graphs and charts of vital signs. A CNA stuck a thermometer into his ear, while another took his heartbeats again and wrote things on a clipboard full of papers.

"Internal temperature...fourteen? Fourteen degrees centigrade?" one of the CNA's recited.

"This nervous system... it's incredible!" exclaimed another who was still deeply concentrated on the computer screen when all the others had left.

As the medical team filed out of the grayish white room (to go get their third morning coffee, and check on other patients), the Doctor sat up and swung his legs over the bed, preparing to find his escape, and assuming everyone had left. Just as he was stepping off of the bed, a shadow to his right detached itself and strode towards him.

It was a man, slightly stocky and short, but well-built. He had medium short dish water blonde hair, and had a bemused look on his face as he walked to the Doctor, clip board in hand, wearing light blue scrubs.

He continued to write things down and check on various machines as the Doctor stared at him slightly confused.

"Do you work here," the Doctor asked, "or have I gone loopy?"

The man looked the Doctor over with a critical eye, then chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I certainly do, why do you ask?"

"Well, I didn't actually see you come in this room, and I'm pretty sure you weren't here when I arrived... I do usually notice those sort of things. It's a bit like you just... poof! Showed up here, and it's a bit odd that I don't really know how you did that! And do you know that I usually do? I can pop up out of nowhere too, it's quite useful when your trying to sneak on board a Sontaran battle-equipped ship swarming with thousands of those little buggers! It gets a bit difficult when you can't sneak away the same way, but it's all the same if you're me, 'cause I usually get away regardless!"

He paused a moment to catch his breath, and his hands stopped waving about.

"There was a point to all that... I'll get back to you with that when I think of it." he finished looking quizzical.

The other man just stood and nodded his head with his eyebrows drawn up all the way. Then he just cocked his head slightly and gave a small smile.

"I used to have a friend that rambled on sorta like you. He did love his ramblings... sorry, didn't mean to get all... personal." John said apologetically.

"Oh, it's quite alright. I always get personal, up and close! So what's your name then, since we're getting all 'personal' now?" the Doctor replied with little bunny ears with his fingers when he said 'personal'.

"John... it's John. What about you, you're a bit of an odd fellow of you don't mind me saying..."

"You have no idea John." the Doctor said looking stern. "Anyway! They call me Doctor, The Doctor. The one and only." he said with a triumphant smile.

"Doctor who, exactly?"

"Yes! Love it when they do that! It's almost as good, if not as important as, 'it's bigger on the inside', but we won't get into that now. I have a favor to ask, do you think you could go get me something to drink, I'm positively parched!" he said waving his hands about in his usual 'Doctor style'.

"Well, sure, I guess. But I'm supposed to be watching you, so... please try not to go wandering off, I'll get into it with the boss again, and trust me, I could do with a little less of that." John said with a slight huff, while walking out and carefully closed behind him.

Pretending to be fine is a bit difficult, especially considering if you've been shocked back to life, have only one heart working, and have a considerable number of other issues ranging from a massive headache to bruised ribs and the fact that you haven't regenerated (which is quite baffling), and a whole horde of other issues that you really shouldn't be thinking about, but rather concentrate on getting out of the particular circumstance you are in. All these things and more rushed around the Doctor's head as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed once again. He head swam with pain as he tried to block it out and get to the door.

Peeking outside, he noticed the hallways were fairly busy with people going about their day, and looked crowded enough to blend into. Grabbing the back of his gown to keep it shut, he set off down the hallway at a brisk pace to reach his room. Thankfully he could remember where it was, and thankfully again, nobody had noticed his absence. It was a funny sight to see a tall man with no coördination briskly walking down the hallway trying desperately to keep the backside of his hospital gown shut. And a few people snickered when they saw it, but went on about their day.

Slipping inside the room, he noted the bag by his old bed where his clothes were, and pulled into a bathroom to change.

_Pants, check. _

_Shirt, check. _

_Jumpers, check. _

_Jacket, check. _

_Shoes, here. Bow tie, cool._

"Sonic! Oh lovely!"

Pulling it out of the bag, he began to press the buttons on it and scan a few things, including himself while staring intently at it. He played around with a few of the settings while pointing it carelessly at the large mirror in front of him, until it sparked violently and the Doctor stumbled back.

"Right. Okay. Still works." he said straightening up and pulling his jacket down.

Stepping lightly to the table, he make quick work of scooping up Rose's jacket and the card which he had placed on his bedside before being carted off. He was ready to head off before he took notice of the vase of flowers left for him. He quickly picked them up, and took the tag off while placing it carefully back on the table, face side up. He headed out the door and walked quickly to his new destination with the vase held in front of his face, pausing a few times to apologize to the small number of people he accidentally ran into while rushing about.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a small waiting area with an office near it, Rose Tyler sat waiting to be let up to a certain room. She watched the clock carefully, well aware that her mum would be waiting to hear how the man was doing before she left. She was going on a trip to Cardiff with a new boyfriend she had found, and staying in a fancy hotel and everything. She just hoped that this new bloke wasn't some creeper and that her mum would be safe. Oh well, not much to do trying to stop her anyway.

"Rose?" the receptionist called from inside the small office across from her.

She got up and signed in on a clipboard and was directed to a hallway and given a room number. As she walked on through the tidy white hallways, she wondered if the man would be very angry with her, or maybe he would refuse to talk with her. Guilt gripped at her heart as she entered a lift to go to the second floor and pressed the button.

Strolling down the second story hallway in wing B, she stopped at the room number 132 and took a deep breath, ready to expect anything from the person inside the room. She pulled down the handle and stepped inside the room, only to find it empty of anyone.

She went back outside to double check the room number_, _then wondered around trying to figure out if this was the right room. When she was sure it was, she examined the room closer, to find her vase of flowers missing, and no sign of her jacket. A small cardboard tag was on the bedside table, and she picked it up. It had a name hastily scribbled on the front that she couldn't quite read, and the words_ ''thank you_' scrawled in sloppy handwriting just below it.

_Did he leave then? He can't have possibly been able to get up, not after how hard I hit him!_

She looked around the room for clues as to where he might have gone. She didn't think that they just let him leave, for some reason she knew he was wondering around this place. She had to go find him.

Going back out into the hallway, she ran to the first person she saw, a nurse, and asked if he had seen anyone with a vase of flowers going by this way. He said he did, and that the guy went on further down the other way, not ten seconds ago.

_I just missed him, shouldn't be hard to track down then._

She walked down the long corridor and looked left and right and found herself walking straight into a tall gangly man in funny clothes. He was carrying her vase in front of his face like he didn't want to be noticed, and her jacket was draped over his shoulder.

"Ooph", she heard the muffled breath of him as he very nearly dropped the vase of her flowers.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to... Oh! You're the guy! What the...? H-how are you even...let me see you." she said trying to pull the vase away from his face.

* * *

He had to get to get his other heart started. There wasn't much time left. Running out of energy at an alarming rate...

The Doctor's steady gait found itself getting all uncoördinated again as he battled to stay upright.

_I need... I need... what do I need? I need quite a big shock... Defibrillator? No...more than that. I could put a bunch of them together and reroute the current through the electrical system... while shutting down all the life-support systems in the building, no, bad idea... I need a big shock! And probably a sledge-hammer to get this stupid thing going again. Or I could just jump off the building._

He rested on a wall where he could look outside. The sunny morning was turning into a cloudy grey one, and it was just about to rain. He could feel the particles in the air shifting as he stared out of the small window contemplating how he was going to get out of this mess. As the small raindrops started to tap at the window, a spark of lightning and a deep rumble of thunder brought him out of his thoughts.

"Rain! Rain and thunder! Of course! I'm a stupid old man, should have thought of that sooner..." he grumbled as he shot off to the end of the hallway to get on the lift. He glanced at the flowers and smelled them experimentally.

_Roses. Of course._

His thoughts were cut short by yet another person he had run into in that hallway. He was about to make a quick apology and be on his way before he heard her voice. A voice that he never thought he'd hear again. The breath was knocked out of him, and for some reason he couldn't quite muster the courage to take another one. The voice grew hazy and distorted as he struggled to comprehend what was going on.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to... Oh! You're the guy! What the...? H-how are you even...let me see you. "

He couldn't take the flowers down, even though she had her hand on the vase and was trying to drag them away. He took a shaky breath and calmed.

_Time to be brave. You can do it._

"Yes, um, sorry miss. I was just, on my way out, I got released early and... was headed..." he trailed off as he slowly lowered the flowers and looked at her. She was wearing a pink long-sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans, trainers, and a beanie. She was breathtaking all the same to him. He stared at her silently for a moment with wide eyes never leaving her face for a moment.

"Oh my God, your face! It... it's like you weren't even hurt at all...how?" Rose's mouth hung open as she reached out and gingerly touched his cheek. He slowly pulled away from her hand and took a step back.

_No. This is bad. I shouldn't be here._

He made a split second decision and turned on his heels to walk the other direction.

"Hey! Hey, wait! Where d'you think you're going?" she called after him as he walked quickly away from her.

She ran to catch up with him, and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and she was shocked to say the least. His face was a little beat up, with a few scratches and a bruise here and there, but she wasn't looking at that. She was looking at his eyes. Something about them made her want to pull him into a hug and cry at the same time. A deep sadness radiated through his face, and she couldn't help but feel like she should know him from somewhere. He just had one of those faces. The look he gave her was terrible, sadness, pity, and joy all at once. She let go of his shoulder and he gave her a small smile. She stared on in confusion as he pulled away and ran off in the opposite direction.

* * *

_Have to get to the roof. Now._

The Doctor ran for all it was worth to the lift. Before the doors shut, a slender hand shot out and put the vase of flowers down right outside the closing doors.

* * *

_He isn't getting away that easy_ Rose thought to herself before running down the hallway after him. She went to the end of the B wing and saw her vase of roses sitting in the open right next to the lift.

_Does he want me to chase after him? _

She picked up the vase and stepped inside. The doors were already open and the button to the very top floor was lit up. She pressed it again and the doors slid shut as she was carried off to the uppermost floor. The carriage shifted to a stop and the doors opened again. She quickly peeked her head out and just barely saw the back end of what looked like a tweed jacket round a corner. Hoping that it was him, she took off after. She skidded to a stop in the next hallway and looked around. He was gone. But then she saw her vase of roses and noticed how they looked a bit empty. Then she saw a single flower lying next a door further down the hallway. She ran to it and gingerly place it in her vase. There was another, lying just outside a door even further down.

_I see what you're doing now..._

The trail of roses went on for a while, taking her down twisting corridors in the endless maze of a hospital. Rose finally found herself standing in front of an empty room with an open window. There was a single rose left on the window sill. Rain was coming down quite hard now, and the thunder ominously crashed nearer. She ducked her head out the window and saw flashes of stringy lightning making its way through the giant grey storm clouds overhead. Then she noticed a ladder just off of to her left leading all the way to the top of the building. It was one of those metal ladders that attached themselves to the side of buildings for maintenance people to use to reach the roof.

_It might not safe...this being a thunderstorm...and this being a metal ladder and all... but I need to find him! What's he doing in the roof any way? Oh God! He might be trying to jump!_

She set the vase down beside her and carefully climbed out of the window onto a ledge and made her way onto the ladder. It was very wet and she worried about slipping off and falling, she was on the fourth story of this building after all. But she worried more about the man up top and what he might do, so she quickened her pace and hurried up the rest of the way.

_Please still be up there. Please._

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**Remember guys, at least two reviews, or no new chapter! Sorry I'm being so evil -, but two little reviews isn't that hard, right? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Okay! Do you guys like it so far? Then tell me! Even if it's just a quick comment, it really helps :) On to the next chapter! Enjoy!_**

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_CHAPTER 5 Insight_

_Please still be up there. Please._

The rain pelted down like little rocks as Rose made her way up the maintenance ladder to the roof. She forced her hands and feet to climb faster even though her sneakers had slipped off a few times. She continued to look up even though the rain got in her eyes and made her blink. She always kept an eye on the far side of the building, hoping that she didn't see anything that looked like a body falling off. Wind whipped her hair everywhere as she reached the top of the building and hoisted herself over the concrete edge. It was so windy, and so much rain kept pouring down, it was hard to hear much of anything.

_Please still be up there. Please._

She repeated it in her head like a mantra. Holding on to the metal railing enclosing the roof, she stood up and looked around. Her eyes immediately fell on him.

_Still up here._

Soaking wet and leaning heavily against the guard rail, the Doctor looked up at her and waved her over. Looking confused, as had happened many times in the past few minutes, she carefully walked a little closer.

"HELLO THERE!", she shouted over the onslaught of the storm. The words died on her lips as thunder sounded right above them and she ducked a little.

He just stood a little straighter and smiled. "HELLO!", he yelled in reply, waving her over yet again. She walked a little further this time, and he nodded her on. She was soon standing only about a foot away.

"I KNOW THAT YOU MIGHT THINK JUMPING IS GOING TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS BUT RE-", she was interrupted by a hand carefully covering her mouth and quieting her. He put a finger to his own lips and shushed her. Her eyes were questioning, but she decided it was best to let him do whatever, as long as it meant he wasn't going to try to jump.

He let go and put both hands on her shoulders and stared her straight in the face. He smiled and soaked up what she looked like. Then, he turned from the rail and led her over to the other side of the roof.

Looking down over the edge, he noted a little interior courtyard that he had seen while looking out of the window earlier. Noticed where the shrubs and trees were. And where the concrete was. He was a man with a plan. And a failing heart.

His vision slipped suddenly and crumpled to his knees just as Rose caught him under his arms. He just as soon regained his footing and sight, but he was running out of time, very ironic for who and what he was.

As Rose helped him get back on his feet she noticed for the first time how weak he actually was. He was shivering all over, and he winced every time she brushed against his torso. She was cold too, but she wasn't on the verge of collapsing.

After a pause, he smiled at her and ran off yet again to a different side of the building rooftop. He was headed toward a large metal contraption bolted to the side and top of the roof. It was about fifteen feet tall and had a large metal sphere at the top. She didn't have a clue what it could be used for until a huge bolt of lightning sparked out of nowhere up and down the large metal rod, setting it crackling with electricity.

"Oh", she said under her breath.

It was a humongous lightning rod, they were in the middle of one of the worst storms that year, and the Doctor was clinging to the side of the giant metal instant-death-if-you-touch-at-the-wrong-time pole. Rose watched in horror as the man slowly made his way across the base to the part that was hanging off of the edge. He was headed to a little black box that probably had electrical wires and things as such stuffed inside it. She ran as close as she dared, and stood watching him crawl over the narrow strip of landing that jutted out from the side. Every time he lost his balance a little, she winced and move a few inches closer. He finally reached the box, and yanked it open with a few tugs. He pulled out what looked like a short stick, but when she squinted a little it was all coppery and metallic.

_A tool_? she wondered.

He spent a few heart pounding moments fiddling with the metal tool and the wires in the box, before shutting the lid and making his way back. He was about halfway there, when the air around them sizzled and lightning shot out of the sky. Rose dropped to the ground and covered her head. When she looked up, she expected to see a slightly crispy version of the same man, but found him almost to the roof, unharmed. There was a dark ashen patch about a yard across, not ten feet from where she was. The lightning didn't hit the rod, it went in the opposite direction.

The man was right beside her now, helping her up. He yelled, "ANTI-CONDUCTING SHIELD", and ran off again to the another corner of the roof.

One he reached the opposite side he looked down again and saw where things were placed in the little square garden below. It was a partially enclosed space, with few trees and benches. A little concrete path wound its way around the garden, and right through the middle, cutting it in half.

He noticed Rose leaning over the rail looking at what he was looking at and looking back at him with a concerned face. He leaned in to her ear so she could hear more clearly, "You have to listen to me. I need you to be very brave for a little while. There's something I have to do, and it will hurt me a lot. Listen carefully, okay?" he pulled away and looked at her for recognition.

She slowly nodded at first, then a little faster. She didn't know why she should even begin to trust this man, he had obviously lost it to anyone else. But, without admitting it, Rose liked him, and wanted to help in whatever his crazy scheme might be.

"Now then, when I come to, I might not be thinking very clearly, so you will have to you your best judgement to keep me out of trouble. Whatever you do, don't let me wander off alone, do not let me. You may have to restart one of my hearts, but if the other ones working, I should be awake enough to tell you how. Where ever we end up, I need you to stay with me at all times. If you don't, well, I probably won't make it. So stick around, and you'll have some answers soon, I promise you that much."

He gave another reassuring smile and pulled her wet jacket off of his shoulder and gave it back. Then he proceeded to take off his tweed coat and hand it to her shouting, "THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE!", and took several steps back.

He sat on the rail and swung his long gangly legs over the top. Standing on the very edge of the lip of the roof, he undid his bow tie and draped it carefully over the railing. Rose moved closer and picked it up.

Her hand was again on his shoulder, holding him back from whatever he was trying to do. He pushed her hand off and mouthed 'I'm sorry' to her. Pulled out his sonic, flipped it open, and switched it on. He waited a few seconds while he held it up to the sky and the air grew static around the small green light.

"GET BACK! ITS STARTING TO WORK!", he yelled back towards Rose, but she didn't move. Her feet planted to the spot and she looked frightened out of her wits.

Storm clouds rolled over their heads and some spiraled down just a few feet from the sonic and made a sort of funnel swirling grey and white cloud matter. The static electricity in the air buzzed with ultra-high frequencies that made the Doctor's ears ring. The light show above them built to a climax as the once stringy lightning turned vicious and thick.

"GERONIMO!" heard Rose just before a huge bolt came twirling out of the sky and made contact with the screwdriver and the Doctor, lighting up the rooftop with thunderous power. The light flickered out almost as soon as it had struck, leaving a large section of the roof blackened and charred.

Everything went slow for Rose as she watched the man's body slowly drop off the roof. She ran for the edge and could have sworn she heard the dull thud as he hit the ground. He landed on his back right squarely on the concrete pathway. She didn't stop to look any longer, she was down the ladder in a flash.

She swung through the window, thank God it was still open, and ran down the twisting hallways and jamming the buttons on the lift. She ran outside, and had to go around the whole first building in order the find the entrance to the little park area.

She saw him lying on the ground across the way, and ran. Skidding to a stop, she dropped to her knees and threw the jackets and the bow tie on the ground beside them. He was extremely pale, and very still. He wasn't breathing and Rose quickly lifted his head and put her fingers on his neck to check his pulse, and sat back relieved to find one heartbeat slowly slugging away. She watched her shaking hands and rubbed her face a few times to calm down.

"Okay...Okay. Need to go get help, he's way to heavy for me to move by myself. He can't way more than...what, one-eighty? My God...", she huffed as she tried to move him over, "what are you? Three-hundred? Wait. Should I even be moving him?"

While she was trying to put him down again he suddenly heaved upwards and gasped in a breath. He sat upright for a few seconds eyes darting around wildly trying to catch his breath again, and when he did it was ragged and short. He saw Rose beside him and mimed something with his hands. She didn't understand at first because it looked like he wanted her to pound on his chest as if he were choking, but he was breathing easily enough. He did it over and over again until she did it back.

He collapsed on the ground and mimed it one last time. "I-I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO! I DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU WANT ME TO HIT YOUR CHEST?", she struggled to keep him conscious as she lightly slapped his face a few times. The rain poured down harder than ever, and the wind kicked up again . He grabbed her hands and slowly made a fist with her fingers and put it against his chest on the left side. He brought her hand up, then down as hard as he could manage and nodded at her to do the same. She understood and balled her hands together again while bringing them down where he showed. Nothing happened and the Doctor shook his head 'no' and made her do it again. This time she brought them down harder and he scrunched his face up with pain, and again shook his head 'no'. Then he blacked out, and no matter how many times Rose shook him, he wouldn't wake up.

"Okay. I can do this, yeah? No problem, just saving a guy's life that just got himself hit with lightning and fell off a building." She took a breath, and straightened her arms out again. Bringing them down with more force then she thought she could dish out, he woke up yelling and sprung to his feet. He tottered for a second, then staggered over the wall of the hospital and leaned against it. She ran over and caught him just as he slid down.

"WE NEED TO GET YOU INSIDE, NOW.", Rose pulled him up and flung his arm over her shoulder and they started to limp towards the front entrance. The Doctor stopped and wouldn't move another inch, even when Rose started to try to drag him further.

"COME ON! WE NEED TO GO! STOP IT!", Rose tugged at his arms but he just slumped to the ground and sat.

"WHAT THE HELL D'YOU THINK YOU'RE DOIN' MATE!" Rose shouted at him while trying to get him back up. "YOU'RE HURT BAD, AND IF WE DON'T GET YOU INSIDE, YOU'RE GONNA BE EVEN MORE HURT! SO COME ON THEN!"

He just stared up at her with a dull look on his face and shook his head 'no'. "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO? REALLY. YOU NEED MEDICAL HELP, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW YOU'RE STILL ALIVE AT THIS POINT! I'M GOING TO GET HELP. STAY HERE."

She started to walk away, but the Doctor caught her hand and pulled her back beside him. She tumbled back, but before she could hit the ground he swept her into a huge hug. They were both soaked, and shivering, but they held each other all the same. When he let her go he looked down at the ground and mumbled something along the lines of, "thanks".

Rose pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. "Yeah... anytime." she said under her breath, still a little dazed. She sat back and stared up through the rain for a while before pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on top. They stayed in the ground, not speaking and just letting it rain.

It poured down on them and seeped into their clothes and made them shiver, while wind nipped at them and froze their fingers. Distant sounds of booming thunder could be heard as the storm slowly moved away. Little puddles of water collected at curbs and miniature rivers flowed down streetways and crevices in the pavement. The rain finally slowed to a drizzle and the wind stopped altogether and you could begin to hear the sounds of the city again.

They sat alone for a while before the Doctor broke the silence, "I don't want to go back there. Please don't make me."

Rose looked at the Doctor with concern. "I won't. I promise. But you have to get medical help, and I don't really know what else to do. Well, I could take you back to my flat. To...y'know, take care of you. You're sure you're not a perv or anythin'?" she said with a small smile.

"Not that I'm aware of," he grinned back. "You don't have to do this. I have places to be, things to... see. I really shouldn't be here. You don't understand yet, but you will someday soon. If I stay any longer... something bad might happen, I'm sure of it. I could unravel my whole time stream and mess yours up in the process. Huge paradox. All the things we've done, they would be... reversed. The paradox would consume millions upon millions of years and... It would be a complete mess. As long as you don't know. And if you do find out... there would just be no way... I couldn't live with myself. Insight," he said with an intense look into her eyes, "is a very dangerous thing. A profound, terrible thing, especially insight from future events.. And if you were to have it, from me, of all people...I- I... What am I doing?" He whispered the last part as he closed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands.

Rose Sat up a little more and crossed her legs. She began to reach out to comfort the distressed man, but pulled back at the last minute. She didn't want to touch him until she had permission. He was hurt just about everywhere. Then she cleared her throat a little, while noting that they could hear noticeably better now.

"Y'know... I didn't understand half of what you just said, but no matter what your problems are, I can help. It's a plan then. I'll take you back to my place and fix you up. It's the least I can do after running you over." she said with a small laugh, her smile shining through again. "Is it okay if I help you up?"

"Yes...should be fine. I think. I'm still doing a mental check. Things are still a bit...wibbly-like..." he trailed off with a comically confused expression plastered on his face.

"Alright, up you get," she said while taking both of his big hands in her smaller ones.

She pulled him up by his arms and he hung his better arm over her shoulder.

"I hope you don't have any issue with being inside the car you were hit with, cause that's the one we're using!" Rose chirped while leading him to the side door of a blue mini-van in the back parking lot. She threw the jackets and bow tie in the back seat and sat down in the front. She started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot on to the nearest street and they were off.

* * *

The car ride back was very quiet. Neither spoke, Rose because it was an uncomfortable silence, and the Doctor because it hurt too much. He had tried sitting in the passenger's seat, but the seatbelt was rubbing over his ribcage and numerous bruises, so he lay in one of the back seats clinging on to the armrest that came down on the edge of the seat. Rose turned out to be quite the crazy driver. Controlled, but extremely quick with sharp turns. It took every ounce of strength the Doctor had left just to keep from rolling off the seat and onto the floor. When they finally stopped, he all but fell on his face trying to get out.

"Mmppff", he grunted while rose picked him up off the ground.

"You can't keep fallin' down every time you go somewhere new, you know," Rose said with a laugh, "you might get hurt."

He smiled wider this time, and almost laughed, but not quite. They took a long while to get up the first flight of stairs, and were both breathing hard by the time they got to the second flight. They sat for a while watching the grey clouds roll by as the sun tried to peek through every now and again.

"You ready?" she asked after a few minutes.

He nodded yes and she hoisted him up as they set off again. When they made it to the top, they both collapsed into a heap. The blonde gave a little half-hearted 'yeah!' while she pumped her fist. The Doctor looked over and gave a little chuckle.

"Hey now! There you go! Finally got you to laugh. That's a start." she said with a warm smile.

He just ducked his head and stayed silent. Once more, they got up and made their way forwards, headed towards Rose's flat. He leaned against the wall while she fiddled with the lock. "Gets a bit sticky when it's cold," she said while she swung the door open.

It was exactly the same as he remembered. Same paintings and mirrors, and same furniture too. They limped past Rose's room, and she quickly shut the door before he could get a good look, but not before he got a peek. Same outrageously pink interior with a big fluffy bed in the middle.

"Don't be thinkin' about that room too much while you're here, cause that's the most you're gonna see of it." she said a little too quickly while reddish hue crept over her cheeks.

She led him to the couch and lowered him down gently.

"This is gonna have to work for now, until I get the spare bed cleared off at least, alright?"

She turned down the hallway and he heard opening of closet doors.

_Everything is exactly the same,_ he thought,_ just like last time. I really just can't believe I'm here and nothing's happened. Well. Nothing overly unusual. But still some odd things._

He gave a huge yawn and his eyelids started to flutter closed. Just before he passed out completely, he saw am image of his TARDIS shimmer before him. His eyes opened in surprise, and he craned his head to see better. It wasn't his big blue box, but his sexy in human form, inside Idris like before. Her long brown locks shimmered like gold and star dust as she began to fade again. "Come back to me, my Thief." She disappeared completely, and the Doctor blacked out.

When Rose came into the room again with a few blankets piled in her arms, the Doctor was fast asleep and snoring. His eyes flickered under his eyelids, but he looked utterly calm and peaceful otherwise. She carefully placed the blankets over him and tucked him in trying to avoid touching any injured part of him, and shut off the lamp beside him. She went around and shut all the blinds, then collapsed on the couch opposite his and curled up to sleep. She had a long shift last night, and an even longer morning today. She checked her phone for any missed calls from her mom or Mickey, then drifted off to the sound of the Doctor's snoring.

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**Thank you for reading guys, you're so incredibly awesome! :) that one was really packed full of stuff! Hey, quick question, would you guys be interested in seeing more fluff in this story, or more action-adventure-y stuff? Let me know! And, remember, I need two reviews, or no chapter for you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: chapter 6 for your entertainment! Cheers! I have another chapter to upload, so two in one night! Cause I'm feeling charitable :3 here ya go!**

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CHAPTER 6 _Paradoxi_

_He was running. Running through the endless hallways of his TARDIS. The lights were dimmed to a harsh yellow glow coming from near the tops of the tan corridors. He stopped and leaned against a wall to catch his breath. "Why am I running?" he asked to the empty air._

_He happened to look down at his clothes, and noticed he was still wearing the same things he wore before getting run over. Exactly the same, in fact, as when he was moping around the TARDIS. Dry, and un-singed, still smelling like Amy's fruit scented candles she kept around the house. They endlessly bugged Rory, but then again, he never could win a petty fight with her about anything, let alone household decor._

_"Wha-?" he ran his hands up and down over his ribcage and stomach, but nothing was broken or even close to bruised._

_"I'm- I'm... dreaming? Yes? Okay. This doesn't make sense! It feels... what does it feel like? So... real! Um..." he spun in place then stopped and clapped his hands together. "Good. Perfect. No! What is going on?" he began to pace and found himself facing a wall in an unknown hallway. He pulled his arm up and glanced at his wristwatch. "No", he breathed and checked again. "This! This... is all wrong!", he ranted to no on in particular. "I have to... this way!" he yelled suddenly and sprinted off towards unknown corridors of his ship. He had his destination in mind, but never reached it._

_Not soon after he began running, his legs became increasingly wobbly and he felt drowsy. Slowly coming to a stop and resting up against a different wall, he felt himself slide down into a heap on the floor. "I don't...understand!" he panted for breath with the effort to stay aware. He fought for as long as he could before tipping over sideways and closing his eyes._

* * *

The Doctor's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright. The blankets he had on him sagged carelessly to the side of the couch. He was in a house. An apartment. Rose's house. Rose's apartment! He looked around the room and saw her sleeping quietly on the couch opposite his. It was a little chilly in the room, and he saw her shiver a little on the couch.

_Blanket_, he thought immediately.

He tried to get up, but only managed to get into a mess with his blankets. He soon ended up sprawled on the carpet with the many colorful blankets surrounding him.

"Ow", he croaked while attempting to pull himself up. "Got to...arrg, remember that for...mpff... next time," he finished pulling himself into a sitting position, "ginger, not rude, and a little less clumsiness, that's all I'm asking! Is that really so much?" He let out a little stream of air and took a big breath.

"And again." He peeled the remaining blankets off of him and tried to maneuver his upper body to lift himself up using the couch. His legs decided they didn't want to cooperate a while ago, so he relied on his arms to pull up and eventually stumble towards the other side of the room with a blanket in hand. He almost fell over and directly on top of Rose, but he caught himself on the coffee table just in time. He sighed with relief, then gently as he could, lowered himself to his knees and put the blanket around her sleeping form.

"There you go, don't you have some sort of heating system here?" he whispered as he backed up and made his way painfully to his couch and collapsed. "I'll have to fix that when I get the chance..." he gave another face-consuming yawn and fell on his side while his eyes slipped shut.

"Nope! Stay awake you!" he chided himself as he repeated the process again, but with a few more blankets this time. He finished covering up Rose and started to make his way back, however he only made it halfway before falling over. He decided it wasn't worth the effort to get back up, so there he stayed for another couple of hours pushing himself not to doze off. He chose not to sleep, even though it was badly needed, because the nightmare had spooked him out of trying again. So he lie on the ground, on his stomach with his head turned to an uncomfortable angle, even though it hurt, and thought about some things he had picked up on this little adventure.

Before his thoughts had time to congregate themselves, he heard a slightly muffled sigh and then heard the person behind him shift in her sleep. He couldn't see, so he slowly turned his head around to the other side. He saw Rose turn and let loose a yawn before cracking an eye open. He smiled lazily at her, and she smiled back. Then her eyes popped open, "My God! What're you doin' on the floor mate?"

She noticed the blankets covering her and looked back at the man on the ground. "Blanket..." the Doctor wheezed as she hurried to his side and tried to pull him up under his arms. She struggled until she accidentally dropped him down again, only managing to flip him over. "Sorry!" she apologized quickly after he gave a little yelp of pain. "You just weigh so much! If I didn't know better, I woulda though you were made of bricks! What do you eat?"

"Gravity... on this plan-"

"Oh, yeah, blame gravity, typical." she huffed teasingly.

"Really! Nobody listens!" he indignantly stated, "It's just my face." he stated sadly.

Rose laughed a little at that, "You are by far the weirdest person I've in a very long time. I mean, for starters, you fell off a building!" she gave start, and slowly realized what she just said. "My God. You fell off a building! I- I don't... how am I even supposed to react to that? I guess I did pretty well at the time though..." she praised herself with a shaky laugh. It was so she could do to keep from fainting then and there. She pursed her lips together and knitted her eyebrows, trying to reason with herself about what was happening. "What was that about anyway? I could really use a little more information on that subject...cause I just don't get it. At all."

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but instead he cringed and screwed his eyes shut. He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his skin and his back arched as he cried out once. He flopped back down again and gasped for air like a land-locked fish and shook his head until the wave of pain and nausea slowly ebbed. He opened his eyes again to see Rose standing up and looking down at him with huge eyes. "What...what was that?"

He gave a confused face, "What?"

"Y-you were... glowing!" she stammered a little still trying to comprehend what she saw.

"Oh. Bugger. That again." he tried rolling over to get up, but Rose didn't move to help him this time. He stumbled to his couch and sat down. He patted the cushion next to him. "Come here, and let's have a talk, eh?"

"Wha-what? No! What's going in here? What was that? I'm I going crazy, or is this actually happening?"

"No no no, you're fine. I promise. Just come here, please?"

Rose didn't want to get anywhere near the strange man, but he was giving her the most pleading look of anyone she had ever seen. Those huge green puppy dog eyes were working very well on his part.

She gave a small nod, but approached the couch with caution and sat as far away from him as she could manage. "Please, tell me what's going on. First, you survive me hitting you full on with a car and barely a bruise on you, then you get yourself hit by lightning and survive falling off a four-story building, and to top it all off, you start glowing like a fairy! Have I missed something? Because I'm seriously lost right now. I don't know if this is a joke, or some sor'a prank, but-"

The Doctor cut her off by putting both of his hands up in the universal gesture of 'calm down, don't be afraid of me'.

"Please, listen, just for a moment, please. You have every right to be scared, I'm feeling a little of that too, right now... But I need you to listen, okay? I can explain what this is, but I need you to calm down, alright?" he said in a very calm voice, and slower than he usually would. She looked away for a moment, and he heard her sigh. When she turned back around to look at him, she put on a brave face and nodded yes to let him continue.

"Okay. Alright. Thank you. I-" this time Rose cut him off and got up off the couch

"Okay, we can talk in a sec, but I need to change and so do you. And some tea sounds really nice right about now, kay?" she didn't wait for his reply as she got up and went down the hallway to her room.

He patiently waited for her and sat back into the couch and sighed. This was going to be tough. He never really was that good with having 'talks'. He liked getting his point across quickly, with a little extra information thrown in for fun (and mostly to stall), but he felt the need to take it a different route with Rose for a few reasons. One of which being that he wanted to tread lightly on what he was saying. If he slipped up and said the wrong thing, his whole time stream would change, not only that, but, you guessed it, paradox.

_Paradoxes everywhere. Paradoxes. Paradoxi. How do you say it? Funny word. But a good word, all the same. The way it rolls off the tongue. Oh, never mind that, there was still something very wrong here._

Shouldn't his time stream already be altered? Just from the few things she's seen, she would be permanently changed. He doubted that she would just write it off as a dream, or forget about it. That golden glow coming off him was regeneration energy. And he knew that she would see that very same energy when he changed from his ninth form to his tenth.

So, if that are the case, she would remember it, right? Then why didn't she bring it up? Forgot it? No, she remembered everything they did, even sometimes when he forgot to do things, she was constantly on top of it when traveling with him.

He closed his eyes and reached inward and felt into his sense of time, but detected no difference of events. Everything was still as it was. He breathed a small sigh of relief, but the feeling was gone almost as soon as it came. There was still so much wrong with the timing of things here, and subtle differences that no one seemed to notice.

Rose returned while the Doctor was deep in thought and he looked up to find her dressed in fresh clothes with wet hair.

"You okay? Every time I leave you alone, you always seem to end up stuck in a different spot... and it's been about fifteen minutes. You were... being quiet. For once."

"I am always quiet." the doctor replied sticking his nose up.

"Yeeaaahhh. Sure. I'll go with that," she paused a moment and a sly smile crossed her face, "you do know you snore real loud, don't you? Like, not as in quiet, but as in, I could probably hear from a few blocks away."

"I do not!" he scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, which he immediately regretted. A sour look crossed his face and he slowly lowered his arms. "Do not." he mumbled and shot her a look.

"Mmhmm. This isn't over, but for the record, yeah, you do. Anyway, come on, I have some clothes for you. I'm pretty sure that they'll fit. D'you... need help up or somethin'?" she said a little edgy and leaned to the side. He shook his head no, but when he nearly fell down again, she was already there under his arms like a crutch, guiding him down the hallway.

They reached a door and she leaned up against the wall. "Now... stay there", she warned with a small smile. She disappeared inside the door, then returned a second later with a pile of clothes in her arms. "These...well, they're my dad's. I really shouldn't be going through his clothes, mom is going to have an absolute fit, but here."

She helped him walk to the bathroom and gave him the stack of shirts, pants, and night clothes. The door closed and Rose headed to the kitchen to make tea and a sandwich for herself. Ten minutes later, and a few muffled bump sounds from the bathroom, she went to go knock gingerly on the door. "Everything alright in there?"

She heard another loud thump and a cry of frustration. But before she could try the handle, the door swung open to reveal a slightly miffed Doctor breathing hard with messy hair. He was leaning on the cabinet top with the night clothes on, except partly for the shirt, and a grumpy looking expression to go along with it all.

Rose tried desperately to hold back a giggle when she saw what he had done, but ended up covering her mouth with her hand in the attempt. He had his pants on, but his shirt was only half on and part of the way buttoned up. He managed to get most everything that was on top of the bathroom counter knocked all over the tiled floor.

"Why'd you have to put me in here? I can barely turn around!" the Doctor complained as Rose picked up a toothbrush holder off the floor.

"What, you just think I'm gonna let some mystery man romp around in my or my mum's room? No way." Rose said as she went around picking up the artifacts that had found their way scattered everywhere. She straightened up and took another look at him and her face softened a bit at the pout the Doctor had.

"Let me." she said and reached out to take off the shirt and rearrange it. He took a hesitant step back, before letting her come closer to him. She carefully unbuttoned the few he had done up, and took off the shirt. He had to suppress little goosebumps and shivers he got whenever her fingers brushed against his bare skin, but she had noticed anyway.

He put his arms out while she put on his shirt the right way round, but kept his head low so she didn't notice the pinkish hue his face was taking on at the time. He glanced up briefly, but his face turned an even darker shade of red when he discovered the monumental blush on her face as well.

When his shirt was back on, he mustered up the courage to look around again. Rose wasn't looking, and thanks to his 'superior biology' was able to stop the embarrassing red from coming back to his cheeks again. But when Rose turned back around after having gathered up his wet clothes, the blush on her face was gone as well. He looked at her funny for a moment, and cocked his head to the side like he was trying to decide something. Rose stared back at him transfixed for a moment before shaking her head and walking to the washroom to put the wet dirty and burnt clothes somewhere else rather than the floor.

"Hmm. Thought so..." The Doctor said under his breath while eyeing Rose critically as she walked out of the bathroom.

_This is definitely not right, I should look into things,_ he thought wryly. _But maybe in a little while..._

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**The Doctor vs. Biology! Next chapter, the Doctor and Rose have a "talk", or at least his equivalent of one! As always, review review review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: aaand here's the other one for tonight :) I hope you like, please be courteous and leave a review, have fun!**

**(Shoutout to A MysteriousWoman711 for the awesome review, thanks ;))**

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CHAPTER 7 _Confessions_

Back on the larger living room couch now, the Doctor twiddled his thumbs together in anticipation of what he was about to say. They could very well die, or worse, he could get slapped! Jackie' s were always the worst. If he ever saw her, or Pete again, be it a random encounter like this, or fate (which the Doctor never took to believing in), the Oncoming Storm was never ready for the Oncoming Slap.

But he was nervous about other things too. The first time he and Rose had met, he whisked her away on an adventure, and the second time had been almost the same. The third time, he had proven himself with the help of the TARDIS, and made her see exactly what he was and what he did. He didn't have the TARDIS this time though. Or any sort of monstrous villain to adventure with. He had his words alone. Only his vocabulary to explain to a frightened young girl that he was a time-travelling alien with a giant small spaceship that goes around saving the galaxies. But without explaining any of those things. He didn't want to lie to Rose, but it would mean the untimely end for the both of them if he slipped up just once.

What was he suppose to tell her anyway? There was no lie conceivable in that giant brain of his that could possibly help him wiggle his way out of this one. Regeneration energy isn't something you can un-see. It just isn't. So what was the Doctor to do? Something very dangerous indeed. Something that would either make or break the pressured Time Lord's resolve. He was going to try a little experiment.

Rose came back from the kitchen with two steaming mugs in her hands and set them on the coasters she set up on the table that had been dragged in front off the couch.

The Doctor had a freshly washed and dried blanket draped over his slumped shoulders, but despite the warmth coming from it, he still shivered uncontrollably.

"D'you need another one?" Rose asked looking concerned.

"No, no. I'm fine. Really." The Doctor replied shaking his head.

"No you're not. Just look at you!" Rose reasoned with him.

He held up a shaky hand to his face to examine it, then flashed a grin.

"I'll go turn the heat up then." Rose walked down the hallway and messed with the thermostat, then returned to her side of the couch. The doctor had his mug in hand and was taking small, tentative sips off the hot liquid. Rose had propped him up using the couch cushions to make him stay. He had the little castle around him because he couldn't stay upright of his own accord.

The heater kicked on and the small living room was flooded with heat. He had stopped drinking at looked down at his mug with an uncertain grimace.

"Please, believe me when I say this, I am a brave man, by your standards, but bravery really only goes so far, especially when I endanger those around me. Understand that I'm not doing this on a whim, with no regard to you or anyone else. I'm sorry. But I have to try."

He shifted in his spot and cleared his throat. It was now or never. This moment would determine whether they lived or died. Or whether a huge hole in space time was about to be ripped open the size of Sweden. He never understood why the holes always came out to be the exact shapes and sizes of countries, but that didn't matter now. It was time.

The Doctor took a breath and grabbed Rose's hands and looked deep into her amber eyes.

"I... am the Doctor." he quickly squeezed his eyes shut and braced for something terrible, but nothing happened.

"Doctor... who?" He cracked an eye open and looked at her concerned face before sitting up as straight as he could.

"Nothing happened." He stated with a blank look on his face.

"Uh...Yeah, nothing happened. What did you think would happen?"

"Not this. Very much not this. Well. It was a bit unexpected." He looked around as if to check and see if anything had blown up yet. Everything was as it should have been, though. Every piece of furniture where it should be, every picture frame and vase right where they left it.

"No...No I don't think this is right either. I-I-I don't know how... Maybe I erased your memories or...or..." The Doctor was at a complete loss as he looked wildly around the room. "You should have remembered by now...unless...Oh. I guess that's why I should have looked into it earlier."

"What? You're not making any sense! What do you mean?"

"I think... that we should wait it out. Or maybe just I... Yes I think that would be better." The Doctor was now squinting at Rose like he was trying examine a cadaver. "For now, anyway."

"Oh, this is hopeless! I knew you were nuts! Now it's starting to get to me too! 'The Doctor'. What kind of a name is that supposed to be anyway? I should just take you back to the hospital now! I've officially lost it. Yellow glowy things flyin' off you and all! What was I thinkin'?" Rose brought her palm up to her forehead and cradled it while trying to decide what to do.

"You're not crazy, Rose. I can prove it."

She looked up and gave him an exasperated look.

"Yeah? That so?"

"Yes. Absolutely. Come here."

"Nuh uh. I'm not going anywhere near you."

"Please. You have no idea what I'm going through just being here. If you never do anything again, which I know you will, please, humor me for just a minute."

She paused and threw a 'try-anything-and-I'll-beat-you-over-the-head' look at him before saying, "Okay. Fine."

"Okay. Good. I want you to listen to my hearts." he laid back on the couch carefully, as to not jar his spine too much, until he was flat on his back looking up at her.

"Put your head here," he said pointing to the left side of his chest, "and listen."

Rose sat down beside him on the couch and looked at him skeptically before lowering her head down to listen. She popped her head back up almost as soon as she set it down. "What's the point? You have a heart. Good job. Happy birthday. What now? This doesn't prove anythin'."

"Yes, I do have one heart, but there's more than that. Listen again, but on the other side."

"Fine." She leaned her head down again, this time on the other side, and stayed for quite a bit longer then she had before. When she did come up, her eyes were wide as dinner plates, but still confused.

"Do you-do you have some sort of... rare birth... defect? I don't understand."

"No, it's not a 'defect'," the Doctor chuckled a little, "it's my hearts. Plural. I have two. I'm not human like you. Do you see?"

"No way. I don't buy it. That's just... not possible!"

"How else would you explain the 'yellow glowy things'? That was regeneration energy. I know for a fact that you didn't imagine it, it's as real as I am."

Rose didn't know what to do. She'd always had the ability for extreme empathy, had a strong heart, and she always seemed to noticed when someone was lying. This 'Doctor' man didn't look like he was lying.

"That's because I'm not lying, Rose."

"How did you do that? I didn't even say that out loud, did I?" She sat back shocked.

"I'm telepathic. Another kwirk that comes along with the hearts and regeneration. Rose, I'm not from your planet. But I do, however, visit quite often. I also take calls, just not on Thursdays though..." he finished with a sly smile.

"Oh really? Then what am I thinking now?"

"You're thinking that you want to go call your mother right about now. She's out on a trip, with a friend. You're worried about her... have you met him?"

Rose blanched and stood up, almost dropping her tea in the process. A loud slap resounded off the walls as Rose took her hand away from the Doctors face.

"Ow! I guess I didn't need to be telepathic to know that was coming." the Doctor grumbled as he rubbed his now reddened cheek.

"I-I didn't mean... I'm sorry. Family trait I guess. I really didn't mean to do that, it's just... this is a bit much to take in, yeah?" she laughed shakily and sat back down beside him. "So...you're really an alien then? How'd you end up here? Wait, do you have a spaceship?" she rushed questions on him until he held his hand up.

"Later, I can answer...later. Right now I'm a bit...ah... tired." He smiled up at her from his position on the couch as she noticed for the first time since this started the dark rings under his eyes, and how he didn't try to sit up when he talked anymore.

"Yeah I'll just... leave you to it then... You're sure you're fine though, right? I mean, do you need some sor'a alien painkillers are somethin'?" Rose asked as she got up to go to the kitchen.

"No, no, I'm fine," he replied with a chuckle, "just need a bit of time is all."

"Well, okay. I'll leave you alone now..." she trailed off as she saw his eyes had already slipped shut and his breathing was more even. Hesitating at the doorway, she looked back at his sleeping form, and curiosity took ahold of her. She walked back to the couch and sat down carefully beside it, and rested a hand on his chest. She felt the steady _thumpthump thumpthump_ of his hearts and sat listening to every one, marveling over his strange anatomy.

She didn't want to admit it, but he was growing on her. Yeah, he was and alien, but he looked so much like a human. Talked like one. Even acted like it, albeit an odd one. But he was also something else. Like human, but... more. More kindness. More empathy. More... _muchness_. Rose was going to take him back to the hospital before she found out what he was, and even then, she thought about trying to hand him over to the government. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that they had some sort of connection. He almost acted like he already knew her. He was walking all over eggshells for her whenever he talked. Being careful, like saying the wrong thing would permanently damage her. Maybe when he was a little better, they could talk more. She definitely wanted to know more about him being an alien and all. That was first priority. Then they could talk about other things.

Caught up in her thoughts, Rose stumbled to the kitchen to eat her sandwich, and then changed her clothes, and went to bed with her door open.

_Just in case_, she thought as she propped the door open with a stack of books, _I can't leave him alone entirely, now can I?_

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**Was it good? I hope so! Will be uploading chapter 8 sometime this weekend, so hang on ;) also, did I do okay on the fluffy parts? Some of you said that you wanted fluff, so I did, but was it okay? Tell me! I'm open anytime :) and remember, REVIEW! Pretty please? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello all! Have another chapter on me! Enjoy!**

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CHAPTER 8 You have three days...

_The Doctor sprung his eyes open. He was in a hallway. In the TARDIS. The same place as before? Maybe. He got to his knees and looked, and yes, same hallway, exactly the same spot. Still by the door to the third kitchen._

_Hmm. That is way to weird of a coincidence to be a dream._

_He got up and headed towards the control room. When he got there, nothing was out of the ordinary. Except for the constant haze which followed him around every time he had this dream. If it was that._

_It might mot be..._

_He had a thought, then he raced up the stairs to the controls and stuck his face right up to the cylinder in the middle. He pulled back, then shook his head and raced down to the lower levels to his swing chair. He used a tool to open a large metal compartment that opened up to the TARDIS core. It was a blinding white beautiful light, and the Doctor had to cover his eyes for a moment. He took out his sonic and scanned the cylinder of light, then looked to see if it was what he thought._

_No? How... this keeps getting weirder..._

_He ran back upstairs and spun around the controls throwing switches and pulling knobs until the familiar groaning sounds began to emulate from the old ship. Then all of the power shut off. Everything was bathed in darkness for a moment, then the backup power kicked on and dim lights shone on a very confused looking Doctor._

_"Okay. That is not good. What's wrong Old Girl?" he cooed as he rubbed the console. The deep hum sounded again, but much more subdued and tired sounding._

_"Oh no. No, please don't go. You can't! There's no reason!" the dismayed Doctor rushed about again pulling on levers to try and stop it, but the power inside the TARDIS core was failing, and she was slipping away. Just before he thought all the life force would go, the drain leveled itself off and the energy steadied at a low percentage. The Cloister bell sounded once, twice, three times, and it was silent._

_The Doctor stood stone still as his eyes wandered around the dimly lit room. He dared not breathe. His ship, his poor old ship, was almost dead. For good this time. He had to figure out what it was._

_"Wait. This is a dream isn't it? Isn't it? I can control my own dreams. Right? What do those kids call it? Lucid dreaming. That's it. They're probably into drugs, never mind. I need... more information."_

_He ran back to his computer and typed up a storm and watched intently as words and pictures flashed across the monitor a million times faster than a human eye could see. Running and jumping down the stairs he landed in a seemingly random corridor and sprinted down it._

_After a few twists and turns, he found himself at the library entrance. He then spent the next three hours searching almost every bookshelf in the giant library for one particular book (the TARDIS thought it was good fun to rearrange all of them when nobody was in)._

_He eventually found it, a large brown leather-bound tome that had big Gallifreyan writing on the front cover. He picked up the heavy book and blew on the front cover, causing a puff of a dust cloud the scatter the other way. He took the book and went back to the sitting area (thankfully it never moved around) and plopped down in one of the big fluffy couches. He turned on a lamp, but remembering the power was incredibly low, dug around in his coat pockets a while before pulling out his glasses and switched his sonic on for light. He did like those glasses quite a bit. Made him feel all mature. He never felt mature in this body. It was too...young._

_He delved in and sat there flipping through pages for hours upon hours, mumbling about different ideas under his breath every so often. He knew that whatever this is, it was one, not going to stop, and two, not what he thought it was before. The Ponds' and his encounter with the 'Dream Lord' had rattled his cage a little too much for his own liking, and he wasn't too keen on having another meeting with his other self. But upon researching a little more, and looking into the TARDIS core before it was drained, he now knew this wasn't the work of any psychic pollen. He could still hear that mocking voice in his own head, "I'll bet you're a vegetarian now!" and "The Oncoming Storm! How pitiful..."._

_He shook his head to clear the memories, and continued to look in his book. He was just flipping through some pages where he thought he could find some useful information when there began a sharp pain in the front of his head, like an extreme migraine, or maybe a knife, he didn't know which, just as long as it stopped. He put his hands to his head as he fought against the sleep yet again._

_"Stop it!" he pawed at the couch cushions with his fingers until collapsing on his side and succumbing to it._

* * *

She stood over the Doctor's unconscious form for a long while, thinking about how well it was going. She didn't usually have this much success the first go-around. It had been such a long time, too. To be locked up in a dark place for hundreds of years is such a terrible thing, made even worse by the fact that you could have gotten out any time you wished, but were forced to wait for the right time. Waiting for so long. It was enough to drive anyone crazy. Maybe she should just end it now.

No, she has kept her cool for this long, she could afford to do it for a little longer. Maybe this Doctor could be tasty too. He was a high level telepath, so it was very possible he could be a viable food source. She would have to think on it more. She had all the time in the world though, she had a time machine in her grips, she controlled time itself.

_She?_ She thought, _I'm referring to myself as a 'she' now? It's not so bad. At least I get all these lovely humans memories to keep the Time Lord here. It does help quite a lot, actually._

She felt very satisfied after draining this TARDIS, and more alert than before. All the better to keep the Time Lord occupied while she fed off him. No more annoying flash-backs to reality. Just her and the Doctor flaunting all of their time in a fake reality, without a care. Beautiful really, and she could get used to it. A sham world is better than the miserable living that she came from.

She looked down at the sleeping Gallifreyan to see him stir, as he began to wake up. The darkness wich had been there only seconds ago was quickly replaced by a floor, then walls, followed by the rest of the room. Couches materialized, along with tables, magazines, a television, as everything was solidified back into place.

_Time to keep him occupied_, she thought as a cup of tea materialized in her hands and she drank from it while sitting in the love-seat.

* * *

"Amy Pond flopped down a little less than gracefully on her sofa with a book in hand, stuck halfway in it. Rory Pond was in the kitchen doing dishes like a good little husband..."

"That's Williams! I'm still not giving up on it, Amy, I want it to be Williams. Do you want to do a hyphenated last name? Williams-Pond sounds okay. And I already did the dishes! Yesterday!" Rory complained as he came downstairs with his work scrubs off for the day and his jim jams on.

"Rory must have been having a bad day, because he usually never complained about the dishes. His wife, however, looked on indifferent, at least until the dishes are done." Amy threw him a pointed look.

"Okay okay! Good little husband on it, then. And yes, it was a less than stellar day, thank you for asking." Rory concentrated on scrubbing the food off of a pan of a particularly nasty concoction that he had attempted to cook earlier. It was harder to keep up with meals with both of them working now, and all the hubbub with the cubes. The Doctor hadn't been around in a few days, so no more tasty surprise meals from him.

"Oh? What happened?" Amy sat up a little, now genuinely concerned. "Did Cambell get on you today again?"

Rory sighed a little, "No... I just... I was thinking about my dad again. He's locked himself up in that room to watch the cubes and I really wanted to talk with him. I have wanted to for a while now."

Amy got up off the couch and stood by Rory, rubbing his back. "Then why don't you go talk to him? I would, but, this is something you two have to figure out. It's not that bad, is it?"

"Every time I open the door, he throws a book at my head."

"Okay... maybe it is that bad, but I'm sure you, being mister smarticle can figure it out. Use your noodle." Amy teased as she tapped his forehead and danced back to the couch to finish her book. Rory sighed and continued to scrub away on his pot.

"Where do you think he is?" Amy asked glancing over at her husband.

"Who?" he replied without looking up from his task. When he got no answer, he looked up and over at Amy to see her 'you-know-who' expression.

"Ohhh. Yeah. I have about as much information as you do at this point."

"But he said he was visiting today. He promised. And it's also some sort of anniversary or something for him. I don't know why he's nit here already."

"Amy... you know how he is. He'll say twenty minutes and be there in a week. Maybe he just got caught up doing something else... or he forgot."

"He wouldn't forget! He made it sound like it was really important. And I think it is, for him. I just don't know. He doesn't forget stuff like that. He likes to pretend that he forgets, but something else is going on."

"Well...we'll give a few days, and if he still doesn't show up, we can start worrying, okay? I really don't think anything's wrong. He could just be busy, you know."

"Yeah I know. Okay, but I'm still going to call, because I'm worried. But a few days is fine."

"Alright."

"Fine."

"Okay."

"I'm going upstairs."

"Whatever." Rory dried off his pot and unloaded the dishwasher while Amy went to the bedroom and pulled out her phone. She dialed a number on it and splayed back on her bed swinging a leg off the side. She kicked the air while the phone rang. It went full cycle, and the Doctor's voice mail kicked on,

"Hello, sorry, is this working? I think it is... anyway, if you're hearing this, I'm either busy, being chased by some civilization, being eaten, shot at, thrown in prison, actually lets skip that part because there's a lot of things I do, so call again later! I'm busy! I have universal roaming, so really, anytime will do-(Amy in the background) *Doctor! Get off that stupid thing!* Okay, got to go, toodles! Never mind, forget I said that-*DOCTOR. OFF. NOW.* Bye!"

Amy smiled and snapped the phone shut.

_Okay Doctor. Three days. After that, we're gonna have an issue._

* * *

"Ow!" the Doctor said as Rose prodded around his stomach and chest.

"Okay, how about here?" she asked as the pressed her fingertips down into the side of his stomach. He didn't reply but instead gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Yes, yes. Definitely yes. Ow. You're sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes I'm sure, I do know a little. My aunt Marie was a nurse for a long time before she retired. I picked up a few things from her. But right now, I can't do anything. Your hearts are the only difference, right?"

"Yes. The one and only!"

"Alright! Okay! So... You're really bruised up real good... and there's a couple cracked ribs...You also have some burns on you from the other day... but all I can do is give you something for the pain and wait."

"I do heal faster than a human does, Rose, I should be fine in a few days."

"Well you'd have to be nearly indestructible to survive what you did."

"Ha! Indestructible! Not nearly, but close enough."

"How did you do it then?"

The Doctor stayed silent for a while.

"How bad is it, really? You can tell me."

"I don't know...honestly. I don't. But it's nothing an alien like you can't handle, is it?" Rose said with a hopeful look on her face.

The Doctor smiled back at her, "yes, I can most definitely handle it. But I need to know, I can't tell right now because everything hurts, I have to see."

Rose bit her lip and nodded back. "Alright then, up you go," she helped him back up into a seated position, "and let's get this off." She helped him shimmy out of his grey crew neck t-shirt. "Arms up."

Being the second day the Doctor stayed at Rose's flat, they had already fallen into a schedule.

9:00 A.M.- Rose gets home from work, and the Doctor gets breakfast.

10:00 A.M.- Rose bed time, Doctor gets control of the T.V. remote.

11:00 A.M. through 5:00 P.M.- Both sleep.

6:00 P.M.- Rose gets up and eats, Doctor gets a check-up.

7:30 P.M.- Shower time. Good for Rose, bad for Doctor (still can't figure out the point of all-in-one shampoos and conditioners).

8:00 P.M. through 11:00 P.M.- Whatever time. Rose chills with a book, and the Doctor talks for three hours straight.

12:00 P.M.- Rose heads out for work, and she knocks the Doctor out with tea because he won't shut up for more than five seconds.

The shirt was thrown aside, and Rose went to go get a hand mirror for him. When she came back, she held it close, "you're absolutely sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." he said simply while holding his hand out. She passed the mirror to him and he scanned over his body with it.

"Yikes. Got myself good, didn't I?" he joked as he gave the mirror back. Rose wasn't half as amused with it as he was though. But she tried to stay in good humor anyway.

"So, what's the diagnosis, Doctor?"

"I think I'm okay, most of my bones are together and internal damage seems to be clearing up. The torso is always the last to heal sadly. But I can't figure out something."

"And what's that?"

"Why I can't regenerate properly. It's like my body is stuck in a time loop. Every time I'm injured to the point of dying, it heals me until I can survive, but no more. It stops."

"Isn't that what its supposed to do? I mean it's in the name, regeneration. It regenerates you to stay alive, right?"

"Sort of. But this isn't usually how it works. When my people get hurt or killed, we use regeneration to save ourselves, yes, but when it happens we... change. Almost everything about you changes, except for your memories and feelings. It feels terrible and exciting, and it is a great strength against enemies."

"So you even look different too? Like a whole new body?"

"Yes. You get used to it eventually,but the first few hours are rough. You don't feel like you. You don't really feel like anyone." The Doctor's face fell a little at listening to his own words, and looked up at Rose to see her mouth open.

"That-that's, horrible! But kind of genius too, I mean, you could technically live forever! Right? Wait, how old are you then?" Rose asked, seemingly overtaken by curiosity again.

"That's confidential. To me. Really. I-I..."

"I get it. That's fine. But couldn't you just give me a rough estimate? A hundred? A thousand? A million?"

"Rose, I am old enough. But if you must know, I'm over twelve hundred."

"Cool!" Rose said as her face lit up. "That's good. Just a child."

"What did you say?" The Doctor did a double-take at what he heard.

"I said, that's good, I better get food. Breakfast for me, dinner for you..."

"No... that's fine I'm not really hungry." He said distractedly while watching her walk off again.

_I'm a little knowledge-hungry as to what is going on. And I will find out._

* * *

**I think she's to the Doctor's attention now... Please take a moment to review, thank you for reading, you guys all rock!**


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